The price of gold continued to hover above the $1,600-mark Tuesday morning as the U.S. dollar was mixed ahead of the FOMC meeting.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, edged up $4.30 to $1,628.30 an ounce. Yesterday, gold ended marginally higher on hopes of further stimulus measures ahead of the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve policy meet later this week.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,248.61 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was lingering around its 3-week low versus the euro and ticking higher against sterling. The buck was moving higher versus the yen, while edging lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, today's data from the Eurostat revealed that euro zone inflation remained stable in July as expected by economists. The annual rate came in at 2.4 percent, above the central bank's target of "below but close to 2 percent." The final data is due on August 16.
A separate report from the agency said the euro zone unemployment rate remained unchanged at a record high in June. The jobless rate for June was 11.2 percent, the same as seen in May. The rate matched economists' expectations.
Elsewhere, unemployment in Germany increased in July as widely expected, data from the Federal Labor Agency showed. The number of unemployed rose by 7,000 in July from a month earlier. This was in line with economists' forecast and followed a similar increase in the previous month.
Meanwhile, Germany's retail sales dropped unexpectedly in June from the prior month, data from the Federal Statistical Office revealed. Retail turnover was down 0.1 percent from May, in contrast to a 0.5 percent rise expected by economists. Nonetheless, the rate of decline was slower than the 0.3 percent drop seen in May.
The prices of silver and platinum were moving higher in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Commerce Department will release its personal income & outlays report for June at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect the report to show that personal income rose 0.4 percent, while personal spending is expected to have edged up by 0.1 percent. In May, personal income edged up 0.2 percent and personal spending remained unchanged.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks monthly changes in the value of residential real estate in 20 metropolitan regions across the U.S., is scheduled to be released at 9 a.m ET. Economists expect a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-over-month increase in the 20-city composite house price index for May.
by RTT Staff Writer
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